Possibility of a controller at an oil major becoming a trader?

Got a full time offer at a oil major in their controller division, what is the possibility if any of making the switch into trading at the current company or other oil major companies?

 

Never say never, but you will be behind the armies of risk and ops people trying to go to trading and your unlike you, their experience will be somewhat valuable to a trade desk. I wouldnt take that job

 

How much exposure are you getting to the traders? Given that the business is very relationship driven and that it is hard to learn about the markets short of participating in them, it would be hard to make a transfer IMO. There is always the off chance that you can network your way into a scheduling, or trading assistant role but I'm not sure how relevant the skills of a controller would be to roles.

I'm very new to the business

 
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Honestly, probably won't happen without a number of moves between roles and firms. There's a lot of generalized "fear" at firms about taking ppl from roles like controller/risk/product control/etc. into anything FO; the thinking is you intimately how the book is marked, where there could be control gaps, etc. I agree with other sentiments that for every role you will be going up against ppl who have worked their whole career in different FO roles (market research -> desk analyst -> scheduler -> trader).

Anecdotally, I've interviewed and hired 5 ppl to come onto my desk and their backgrounds were basically: 3 were desk analysts elsewhere, 1 did hardcore data analytics, 1 from product control (extreme exception that had a lot of factors that tilted it in her favor at the time).

I would keep in mind that most of the majors have trader dev programs (XOM doesn't to my knowledge). There is a lot of internal preference for the kids in the program to get those seats. I don't know your full situation; however, on thing to consider is: take the job, apply to the trader dev program internally & at other shops, get lucky.

 

The short answer is yes it is possible. It does largely depend on how you are supporting originators.

For example, if you're in structuring (combo of quant/pricing analyst on the deal) it's easier since you're working with the originators on what makes the deal close--where is the risk the firm is taking on/off, what's a fair price, margin expectations, margin risk, etc.--you're in a lot better position than the guys who work it from finance side (JVs, structured finance, asset back finance, etc.) Think of it this way, how are you supporting the deal? Are you supporting it from a commercial perspective or from a paperwork/making the trains run on time?

 

You didn't specify what your current employment situation is. If you are unemployed, then a controller job is better than no job.

on the one hand, like a lot of people have said...there is no direct path to trading here. However, once you are inside a company, if you do well for 1-2 years, there is always the possibility of asking your boss for exposure to the trading desk.

First, you must make allies...get people (especially your boos and other senior people) to like you and want to help you (this will probably take 2 years). Then you must ask for what you want...a chance to interview with the trading desk for the next batch of entry level trading positions.

 

My other option is to be an Asset Management analyst at a top REIT in Chicago. The REIT will definitely gear me more towards a high finance career, but I'm interested in trading so I dont see me jumping from a Asset management analyst to a trader. The oil major has me starting off as a controller for their tech function, so I dont get that much face time with traders.

 

Not a guarantee but it's 100% possible.

Controlling can be extraordinarily dull - it's all too easy to get stuck in doing the bare minimum and lose motivation. Think about automating the boring stuff early on so you can spend time with the traders understanding the commercial side.

The good thing is that you can stand out with a few simple steps. Show you care about what you're doing. Add value by improving the reporting and systems. Traders hate it when their pnl is wrong and controllers don't understand their book enough to appreciate the problem, so don't be that guy. Learn VBA/Python/Tableau or whatever it takes.

If you solve problems for people and maintain your curiosity for the business over a number of years, you will get your shot. BUT if after 6 months you decide the job is BS and start complaining you're not a trader, it won't happen.

 

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